Due to the growth in modern communication technology, a large number of electronic devices such as mobile phones, pagers, cameras, MP3 players, remote controllers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like, have been introduced in the market. In order to keep up with this trend and to gain a competitive advantage, manufacturers of electronic devices focus on enhancing the functionalities of the electronic devices, and at the same time making them compact. However, the small size of the electronic devices reduces the area available for their components such as keys and displays. To counter this restriction due to the reduced area, electronic devices with multiple housings have been developed. Such electronic devices can be folded or made compact in other ways when they are not in use, and are capable of performing different operations in different configurations.
Some foldable electronic devices have two or more housings. However, electronic devices with multiple housings suffer from one or more of the following limitations. First, the multiple housings increase the weight of the electronic device. Second, multiple housings increase the thickness of the electronic device. Third, while typing text in alphanumeric characters, the electronic device needs to be switched to different configurations to alternatively enter characters from a telephonic keypad or a QWERTY keypad. Fourth, the multiple housings can be made compact or made to slide in one direction only—either along their length or their breadth.